Editing Prime7 (section)

===Aggregation===
[[File:Prime, 2WG and Star FM broadcasting studios.jpg|thumb|Former RVN/AMV Television Centre at Lake Albert Road, [[Kooringal, New South Wales|Kooringal]] in 2008, now occupied by Generocity Church.]]
Midstate Television was bought out by media magnate [[Paul Ramsay]]'s Ramcorp in October 1987.<ref name="atvh-60s" /> It was soon merged with Ramcorp's other stations, RVN/AMV and NEN/ECN. In 1988, Midstate Television was renamed '''Prime Television''' and began to show increased [[Seven Network]] programming in readiness for [[Regional television in Australia#Aggregation|aggregation]].<ref name="atvh-60s" />

When aggregation took place, Prime began broadcasting to both southern New South Wales and northern Victoria. Transmission problems meant that aggregation in southern New South Wales took place in two stages – first the Australian Capital Territory and [[South Coast (New South Wales)|NSW south coast]] on 31 March 1989, followed by [[Orange, New South Wales|Orange]], [[Dubbo]], and [[Wagga Wagga]] on 31 December 1989. These changes led to the de-merger of RVN-AMV, with RVN becoming CBN-2.<ref name="atvh-60s" />

[[Griffith, New South Wales|Griffith]] remained a one-station market, however instead of taking programming from Prime in line with the network's other stations, [[MTN (TV station)|MTN-9]] relayed programming mainly from [[WIN Television]] in southern New South Wales.<ref name="atvh-60s" /> A supplementary licence, AMN-31, was successfully bid for by MTN in 1996, providing a relay of Prime Television.<ref name="atvh-90s">{{Cite web |title=Prime Television 1990s |url=http://www.austvhistory.com/prime/90s.htm |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080102041440/http://www.austvhistory.com/prime/90s.htm |archive-date=2 January 2008 |access-date=17 September 2007 |website=AusTVHistory}}</ref> Soon after the station was purchased by [[WIN Television]], which undertook a number of minor changes – mainly changing the news service to [[WIN News]], and using entirely WIN branding. AMN-31 remains a relay of Prime. Similarly, the [[Mildura]] licence area remained separate from the remainder of Victoria, albeit with a single station, STV-8, later bought out by WIN Television in 1996.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Tanner |first=Stephen |year=1995 |title=The Rise and Fall of Edmund Rouse |url=http://eprint.uq.edu.au/archive/00000280/01/tanner95.pdf |url-status=dead |journal=Australian Studies in Journalism |publisher=[[University of Queensland]] |page=63 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070829065945/http://eprint.uq.edu.au/archive/00000280/01/tanner95.pdf |archive-date=29 August 2007 |access-date=19 August 2007}}</ref> In 1997 Prime was successful in bidding for a new licence for the area at a cost of $3.2 million.<ref>{{Cite web |date=29 October 1996 |title=New Commercial TV licences for Darwin and Mildura |url=http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD/1001/pc=PC_90532 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080221235436/http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD/1001/pc=PC_90532 |archive-date=21 February 2008 |access-date=15 September 2007 |publisher=[[Australian Communications and Media Authority]]}}</ref> PTV-31 began broadcasting the following year.<ref name="atvh-90s" />

Although advertising revenue increased post-aggregation, local programming declined as a result of the costs incurred by the network's expansion – an estimated $45 million had been spent by Ramcorp during and in the lead-up to aggregation.<ref name="atvh-90s" /> After losses of $50 million, it was not until 1993 that the renamed [[Prime Media Group|Prime Television]] posted a profit.<ref name="atvh-90s" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Wynne |first=Michael |year=2005 |title=Ramsay Healthcare Early Years |url=http://www.uow.edu.au/arts/sts/bmartin/dissent/documents/health/ramsay_early.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070910103323/http://www.uow.edu.au/arts/sts/bmartin/dissent/documents/health/ramsay_early.html |archive-date=10 September 2007 |access-date=15 September 2007 |publisher=[[University of Wollongong]]}}</ref>

In November 1996, Prime's parent company, [[Prime Media Group|Prime Television]], purchased the [[Golden West Network]], a merged group of four stations in regional Western Australia; BTW-3 [[Bunbury, Western Australia|Bunbury]], VEW-8 [[Kalgoorlie]], GTW-11 [[Geraldton]] and GSW-9 [[Albany, Western Australia|Albany]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kidman |first=Matthew |date=13 November 1996 |title=Prime buys Golden West |url=https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid/infoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=AUNB&req_dat=2FC64405CDC9450D8CE0F660AE4E730F&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi/fmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Anews%252F11BCA31E0D81FE18 |access-date=19 February 2022 |newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |publisher=[[Fairfax Media]] |location=[[Sydney]] |page=29 |via=[[Newsbank]] |id={{ProQuest|363364327}}}}</ref> Western Australia, similar to Griffith and Mildura, remained a one-station commercial market until 1999 when GWN became a [[Seven Network]] affiliate, after [[WIN Television]] began transmission as an affiliate of both the [[Nine Network]] and [[Network Ten]].<ref name="atvh-90s" />

The network began to expand into New Zealand in 1997, when a number of licences were purchased from [[United Christian Broadcasters]] for an estimated $3.6 million.<ref name="thepress">{{Cite news |date=22 December 2001 |title=Packer to boost Prime Television |newspaper=The Press |location=[[Christchurch]] |page=17 |id={{ProQuest|314457739}}}}</ref> [[Prime (New Zealand TV channel)|Prime Television New Zealand]] began broadcasting on 30 August 1998, with a nightly local news program in both [[Waikato]] and [[Christchurch]].<ref name="thepress" /> Prime also expanded into Argentina with the purchase of the [[Canal 9 (Argentina)|Canal 9]] network.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kidman |first=Matthew |date=16 December 1997 |title=Prime TV buys and sells in Argentina |url=https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid/infoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=AUNB&req_dat=2FC64405CDC9450D8CE0F660AE4E730F&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi/fmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Anews%252F11BC9F62C0EDE270 |access-date=19 February 2022 |newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |publisher=[[Fairfax Media]] |location=Sydney |page=27 |via=[[Newsbank]] |id={{ProQuest|363450289}}}}</ref>